Event: Flint mayoral race update, 10/9/07.

From the Flint Journal:
Complete Coverage.
Recent posts: Share your thoughts, Top Pastors Endorse Williamson, Walling, Williamson to speak at Rotary, City of Flint lowers suplus estimate, Time is running out to register to vote, Chamber PAC to host candidates, Prized UAW endorsement goes to no one, Firefighters union backs Williamson, Mayor says city has jail money, Former Stanley aide heads Walling's north-end HQ, Court of public opinion: Lawsuit costs become election issue.

Also updates to the anti-Williamson blog Williamson Watch.

Meanwhile, the Uncommon Sense hasn't been updated since June. What gives? Their fortè is depth in political coverage that outer outlets cannot or will not provide. We need you, Uncommon Sense.

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If you look at the headlines above, you might gather that this has been a bad week for Walling. The pastors' endorsement stings hard, and they have been some of the most decisive factors in recent elections. If anything, however, it points to what a close election this is likely to be. Without the UAW endorsement (which would count for much more than the AFL-CIO position), there's a vacuum in the race. There is a chance, of course, that influential individuals in the UAW will endorse a candidate (several already have, on both sides), but logistically speaking, it's hard to make any predictions. Walling's cooperation with former-mayor's Stanley's administration may help to offset the pastors' endorsement in the African American community. And that, itself, may damage Walling's standing in the white community, since there was nothing they ever came together on as strongly as opposition to Stanley. Aren't the messy memories of racial politics just lovely?

One interesting effect, incidently, is that this election could be less even along racial lines than any other in recent history. It may even polarize more by age and occupation than by race. We'll see.

The upshot, of course, is that if you can vote, you need to. This looks like it's going to be a very close race.